Outreach Practitioner

Wdp; Greater London; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 34,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

30 days annual leave

Health & wellbeing initiatives

Development opportunities

Financial perks

Job summary

Via's Outreach service in Redbridge is seeking an Outreach Practitioner to provide assertive outreach and case management for people who are experiencing homelessness or are at risk of homelessness. The role requires independence as well as strong teamwork.

You will perform triage and assessments, deliver psychosocial interventions, and work with partner agencies to connect individuals to wellbeing services and drug/alcohol treatment.

Qualifications

• Strong communication skills, empathy and patience are essential for engaging with service users.
• Language skills in Punjabi, Romanian, Lithuanian or Russian are desirable but not essential.
• Previous outreach or homelessness services experience is advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Carry out triage and comprehensive substance misuse assessments and develop person-centred care plans.
• Provide evidence-based psychosocial interventions aligned to individuals' needs and goals.
• Conduct street outreach to engage homeless individuals misusing drugs or alcohol.
• Deliver satellite provisions within local services such as hostels and day centres.
• Provide harm reduction advice, including needle exchange and suicide prevention.
• Collaborate with partner agencies in housing, immigration, healthcare, and other services.

Skills

Strong communication

Empathy

Patience

Job description

Job Reference JOB0193 Location Ilford, London Borough of Redbridge Salary £29,998.00 - £33,935.00 per annum, including London Weighting where applicable Vacancy Type Permanent/Full Time Working Hours 37.5 hours per week Application Deadline Friday, September 11, 2026 Job Summary

Are you looking for a sense of purpose in your job? Would you like to support people who are or have experienced homelessness and also struggle with alcohol or drug use?

Being an outreach worker is varied and rewarding work. It also gives invaluable insight into health and social care systems for anyone looking to go into public health and policy work.

The Role

You will be a professional and motivated individual who is committed to providing assertive outreach and case management to engage or re-engage people who are experiencing homelessness or are at risk of homelessness into wellbeing services and drug and alcohol treatment. You’ll be able to work independently, but also as part of a supportive team. Some key aspects of the role include:

• To carry out triage and comprehensive substance misuse assessments, risk assessments and develop person-centred care plans and risk management plans.
• To provide evidence-based psychosocial interventions that align to the individual’s needs and goals, drawing upon Via's Core Model curriculum and other tools and techniques, such as ITEP maps.
• Conduct street outreach to engage/reengage homeless individuals who are misusing drugs or alcohol.
• Deliver satellite provisions within local services e.g. hostels and day centres.
• Provide effective and relevant harm reduction advice and interventions, including needle exchange, advice about synthetic opioids, and suicide prevention.
• Represent Via by working professionally in collaboration with partner agencies including those in housing, immigration, healthcare, etc.

Strong communication skills, empathy and patience are needed for the post holder to providing care to service users who have diagnosed mental illness, have experienced complex trauma, and who experience difficulties engaging with mainstream services.

Language skills in Punjabi, Romanian, Lithuanian or Russian would be desirable but are not essential.

The Service

Via's Outreach service in Redbridge is collocated with and works alongside Via's other services in Redbridge. These include the Adult and Young People's Drug and Alcohol Services, a sexual health service for young people and vulnerable adults, and our smoking cessation service. Whilst focusing on people’s alcohol or drug use, the outreach team work closely with a wide range of other partner agencies who also support of people who are experiencing homelessness or vulnerably housed, to ensure that a wide range of services are able to reach them to reduce inequalities and improve their health and wellbeing.

Via is committed to the ongoing professional development of all our staff. Through joining Via, you will receive a warm welcome, peer support, access to a wide range of training, including trauma informed care, and Via's 'Tackling Substance Misuse' qualification which supports practitioners’ progression through the pay scales. Practitioners have regular supervision and clinical reflective practice, and have opportunities to thrive in a lively and aspirational organisation.

Location

The role covers multiple service hubs across the Borough of Redbridge with the main base being our Via hub in Ilford.

To see the generous range of benefits we offer at Via including 30 days annual leave for all new starters, our health and wellbeing initiatives, financial perks and development opportunities - visit our Benefits Package

Job Profile JD Outreach Practitioner

Via welcomes enquiries from everyone, and we value diversity in our workplace. Our commitment to promoting diversity and developing a workplace environment where all staff are treated with dignity and respect is central to our recruitment process.

We're a Disability Confident Employer and are committed to the employment and career development of disabled people. We offer an interview to disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for our jobs, please confirm in the personal statement part of our application form that you are applying under this scheme.

Appointment to all our posts are subject to satisfactory completion of our safeguarding checks including DBS and we follow safer recruiting principles.